Thought Eater Podcast: Night Below Session Recap 4.14.19

Self-reflection is important for GMs. Learning from our mistakes and struggles is crucial, not just in gaming but in life. I wasn't at my best last night. At times I felt a bit like the zombies the party encountered.

Listen to my meandering thoughts on lasts night's session HERE.

If you enjoy my free zine, podcast, and/or blog, please consider supporting my work for only $1 per month. 

Help Support James Smith's Family

James' family is raising money to help with funeral expenses. They are only trying to raise $700. Let's blow that out of the fn water. If you have ever enjoyed James' work, if he ever pointed someone to your Kickstarter, announced that your gaming product was for sale, mentioned your podcast, blog, whatever...now is really the time to show your gratitude. The family has a Paypal set up. Even if you can only give a dollar, give it, and give it now so that they don't have to worry about money at a time like this. Please, whatever you can afford to donate, do it. Whether you can give money or not, share this information on social media and try to reach as many as you can.

"James doesn't have any life insurance or savings to help with funeral cost. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to help out with the cost. We are trying to raise $700. We have set up a Paypal account for this purpose. The link to make a donation is: paypal.me/jamessmithmemory "

Free and PWYW 5e DMs Guild Highlights: Week Ending 4.13.19

Every week, talented creators upload products to the DMs Guild, pricing them as free or pay-what-you-want in order to reach customers. Dozens of new free and pwyw products are added each week alone. It is a lot to sort through. My hope is that highlighting a few of each week's best supplements will help the designers get the attention they deserve.

You can find previous posts in this series HERE.


Heroes of Shadow 5e Complete Conversion from Anson Smith

Late in 4th edition's run, after the mixed reaction to the Essentials re-brand, several character option books were released. Though 4e was already doomed by the time of their publication, there was still some interesting material to be found in them. Here we have feats, weapons, spells, builds, and more from the 4e Heroes of Shadow supplement updated to 5e.



Toecap's Puzzle House from Christopher J Foster

Toecap's Puzzle House has...errr...puzzled many an adventuring group. Does your group have what it takes to get in and out with the treasure, or will they throw up their hands in frustration like many others before them? This side quest could be run in a single session.



Ninety-nine New Wild Magic Surges from Guy-Andre' Meloche

Just what it sounds like. Interestingly, the author has a Twitter account dedicated solely to posting new wild magic surges.



The Dedicant Class from Modo

Odd but inventive class centered on "enactments", an ability to absorb/learn the attacks and abilities of monsters and other foes, draw spells from the dead, and transfer magical enhancements from item to item. Probably broken as hell, but very interesting.


If you enjoy my free zine, podcast, and/or blog, please consider supporting my work for only $1 per month. 

Thought Eater Podcast: The Willy the Wizard Show

My daughter and I put this short skit together based on characters from our D&D campaign. Meet Elizabeth the Fighter and Willy the Wizard. Short and very silly.

LISTEN HERE!

If you enjoy my free zine, podcast, and/or blog, please consider supporting my work for only $1 per month. 

Rest in Peace, James Smith

I am so horribly saddened to hear that James Smith of the awesome, essential Dreams of Mythic Fantasy blog has passed. His family made a post with a link to his obituary HERE.

Some people try to be cool. Some people are cool without trying. James was the latter. James was always awesome in every interaction I ever had with him. Always. His passion for old-school gaming and the way he treated others was an inspiration to me.

My heart goes out to his family and friends. James, thank you for all you did. There is a hole in the OSR.

Humpday Blog-O-Rama 4.10.19

Blogs are an integral, vital part of the RPG hobby. They serve as incubators for new games, sounding boards for fresh ideas, and platforms for up-and-coming talent. They keep "forgotten" games alive, foster discussions, and build communities. Not everyone can work for a big game company, command a large audience on Twitch, or make a living from their art or cartography, but every RPG enthusiast can easily create a blog and start sharing their passion with the world.

Every Wednesday on the Thought Eater podcast and blog, I take a look at what is going on in the vibrant RPG blog scene. Check out previous Humpday Blog-O-Rama posts HERE.



LISTEN TO THIS WEEK'S EPISODE HERE!



LINKS FROM THIS WEEK'S EPISODE


MAPS

https://batintheattic.blogspot.com/2019/04/figuring-out-scale-of-viridstans-map.html

https://beyondfomalhaut.blogspot.com/2019/04/stuff-dungeons-of-morthimion.html

http://bearded-devil.com/2019/04/09/how-i-run-a-citycrawl-campaign/



APRIL A-Z

http://www.kjd-imc.org

https://bxblackrazor.blogspot.com

https://seaofstarsrpg.wordpress.com/

http://punverse.blogspot.com

https://mythopoeicrambling.wordpress.com/2019/04/05/aprils-past/



REVIEWS

http://save.vs.totalpartykill.ca/review/the-black-hack

http://zedecksiew.tumblr.com/post/183933450206

https://www.indygaming.com/video-astonishing-swordsmen-and-sorcerers-of-hyperborea-collection/

http://psychicmayhem.blogspot.com/2019/04/review-stranger-things-d-roleplaying.html



SAVE (G+) OR DIE

https://spoutinglore.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-g-archives.html



RANDOM TABLES

https://randroll.com/archive/random_realms_chartopia/

https://chartopia.d12dev.com/search/



VARIANTS

http://retiredadventurer.blogspot.com/2019/04/flipping-core-mechanic-of-mythras.html

http://themansegaming.blogspot.com/2019/04/50-methods-of-balancing-magic-in-your.html

https://thewanderingalchemist.com/2019/04/03/year-of-4e-minions/



MISCELLANY



https://wanderinggamist.blogspot.com/2019/04/notes-from-hiking-seminar.html

http://deltasdnd.blogspot.com/2019/04/stats-saturday-ad-wandering-monster.html

https://phantomrollbooth.blogspot.com/2019/04/help-im-cheating-at-d.html

https://boggswood.blogspot.com/2019/04/thoughts-on-arnesons-armor-class.html

https://dmdavid.com/tag/the-history-of-traps-in-dungeons-dragons/

http://throneofsalt.blogspot.com/2019/04/a-laymans-guide-to-hard-sci-fi-and-200.html



ZINES ZINES ZINES

http://www.slackernerds.com/2019/04/nuggets-2-is-live.html
https://anchor.fm/rich-fraser/

http://beyondfomalhaut.blogspot.com/2019/04/zine-echoes-from-fomalhaut-05-lost.html

http://natetreme.com/blog/2019/3/19/join-the-pamphlet-dungeon-game-jam-this-april

https://itch.io/jam/pamphletjam

http://oldskulling.blogspot.com/2019/04/lost-in-fantasy-world-and-maze-of-many.html

http://elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.com/2019/03/3fold-dungeons.html
http://elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.com/2019/04/more-pix-of-my-3fold-dungeons.html

https://frothsofdnd.blogspot.com/2019/04/check-out-my-free-osr-zine.html


If you enjoy my free zine, podcast, and/or blog, please consider supporting my work for only $1 per month. 

Thought Eater Podcast: Night Below Session Recap 4.7.19

Sundays on the Thought Eater podcast, I recap the events of my Saturday night 1e/BX Night Below campaign. The Night Below is an absolutely MASSIVE 2e-era box set, often started, seldom finished.

If you haven't listened to my Sunday show before, this is a really good one to jump in on, as I do a campaign overview at the beginning to catch new listeners up. 

LISTEN HERE

If you enjoy my free zine, podcast, and/or blog, please consider supporting my work for only $1 per month. 

Free and PWYW 5e DMs Guild Highlights: Week Ending 4.6.19

Every week, talented creators upload products to the DMs Guild, pricing them as free or pay-what-you-want in order to reach customers. Dozens of new free and pwyw products are added each week alone. It is a lot to sort through. My hope is that highlighting a few of each week's best supplements will help the designers get the attention they deserve. You can find previous posts in this series HERE.



The Grand Library from Star Shine

Ok, I am pretty good at coming up with NPC names. Taverns? Sure, I'm serviceable. But let me get my players into a library or study full of books and my mind goes blank. If you are like me, you are going to love this supplement. This is more than just a list of book names. Everything from cookbooks to instruction manuals are detailed. It even assigns rarity! Definitely one for the ol' DM kit.



Antonia Lupri's Ravenloft Cookbook from Mistfactor Press, Libedrator Earl, and Anne Gregersen

Speaking of cookbooks, here we have a unique supplement detailing a Ravenloft NPC with a penchant for odd recipes. Black Pudding Pudding, anyone? Or would you prefer the Honey Glazed Stirge Wings? Includes side quests, maps of her tavern, and a handout.



Bowl of Sin: Hope from Taylor Seely-Wright

Ultra-bleak "brutal boss rush adventure" set in a dormant volcano. Bring an extra PC.



Archetypes for Weirdos: 36 Homebrew Subclasses from Jordan Allen

Idiosyncratic collection of borderline-gonzo archetypes for all core classes. Play a druid from the Circle of the Cactus, swear by the Oath of the Bartender, or make a grim living as a Black Market Surgeon rogue. The cartoonish artwork adds to the unusual feel of this one.



If you enjoy my free zine, podcast, and/or blog, please consider supporting my work for only $1 per month. 

CHECK OUT MY FREE OSR ZINE!

I am super excited to share a little project that I have been working on. This is a print-and-fold, "pocketmod" OSR zine, hopefully the first of many that I will be producing. I am calling it Psionic Platypus. Issue #1 is available for free/pay-what-you-want right now on DriveThru!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD PSIONIC PLATYPUS #1

This first issue features the mini-adventure "Cruelty Cave of the Mumbling Mouther", and includes art from Evlyn Moreau and Claytonian JP, with a map from Eneko Menica. US Letter and A4 sizes are available for download. Just print, fold, and...hopefully enjoy! If you like it, please help me get the word out by sharing it with others.

I am aiming to do these monthly, but we will see how it goes. Issue #2 is already in the works, and features a dungeon crawl by my 7 year old daughter!

To coincide with the release of the zine, I have decided to start a Patreon. If you enjoy my blog, podcast, and/or free zine, please consider supporting me for $1 a month. My content is available for free, so this is basically a tip jar. Thank you for taking a look at it.

CLICK TO SUPPORT FROTH FOR A BUCK A MONTH

Oh, and here are some folding instructions if you have never done one of these before!

Thought Eater Podcast: The Legends Respond!

One of the cool things about podcasting on Anchor, besides the fact that they distribute your podcast automatically to a bunch of platforms for free, is that you can call-in on other shows. This has helped build a community of OSR Anchorites, a group of RPG folks who support each other and frequently call-in on each other's podcasts. It is a bit like the blog scene. You can favorite different podcasts (sort of like a blogroll) and call-in (like leaving a blog comment). It is a lot of fun, and if you have ever thought about starting a podcast, you can be up and running quickly with Anchor with no equipment needed but your phone.

On my podcast last week, I asked a hypothetical question. If there was an emergency and you only had time to grab one item from your RPG collection, what would it be? I ended up going with the WotC OD&D reprint box set from a few years back. I was curious what other Anchorites might choose, so I put the question to them as well.

This week's Friday podcast features call-ins from Logan Howard of Monster Brothers and Sword Breaker, Colin Green from Spikepit, Rob C from Down in a Heap, Rich Fraser of Cockatrice Nuggets, and Wayne Peacock from Motive. I highly recommend checking out their podcasts.

I hope you enjoy it...and maybe I will hear you on Anchor sometime!


If you enjoy my free zine, podcast, and/or blog, please consider supporting my work for only $1 per month. 

Humpday Blog-O-Rama 4.3.19

Blogs are an integral, vital part of the RPG hobby. They serve as incubators for new games, sounding boards for fresh ideas, and platforms for up-and-coming talent. They keep "forgotten" games alive, foster discussions, and build communities. Not everyone can work for a big game company, command a large audience on Twitch, or make a living from their art or cartography, but every RPG enthusiast can easily create a blog and start sharing their passion with the world.

Every Wednesday on the Thought Eater podcast and blog, I take a look at what is going on in the vibrant RPG blog scene. Check out previous Humpday Blog-O-Rama posts HERE.


LISTEN TO THIS WEEK'S EPISODE HERE




LINKS FROM THIS WEEK'S EPISODE



MAPS

https://vulpinoid.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-flotilla.html

https://footofthemountainadventures.blogspot.com/2019/04/forest-geomorffs.html

https://greyhawkery.blogspot.com/2019/03/greyhawk-mini-map-whyestil-lake.html

http://medievalcastles.stormthecastle.com/castle-floor-plans.htm

https://alexschroeder.ch/wiki/2019-04-01_Gridmapper_Updates



SECRET SANTICORE

http://vanishingtower.blogspot.com/2019/03/santicore-2017.html
http://santicore.blogspot.com/p/the-santicore-archives.html



RANDOM TABLES

http://blog.d4caltrops.com/2019/04/random-impedimenta-d100-single-page.html

https://dungeonspossums.blogspot.com/2019/04/pickpocketing.html

http://eldritchfields.blogspot.com/2019/03/1d6-things-that-might-happen-when-you.html

https://heavyliestheaxe.blogspot.com/2019/03/things-that-have-worked-rumour-posts.html



MISCELLANY

https://savageafterworld.blogspot.com/2019/03/diy-dead-stamps-for-mccdcc-rpgs.html

https://www.rpgmusings.com/2019/03/so-you-wanna-play-a-seafaring-dd-campaign/

https://attnam.blogspot.com/2019/03/my-nethack-anniversary.html

http://www.rpgnews.com/



INSPIRATION

https://monstersizeghost.blogspot.com/



BLOGGER HALL OF FAME: CHRISTOPHER STOGDILL OF FRUGAL GM

https://www.frugalgm.com/



GOOGLE +

https://followmeanddie.com/2019/03/30/g-the-end-and-googles-still-making-changes/

https://diyanddragons.blogspot.com/2019/03/final-bon-mots-from-dying-google-plus.html

http://hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com/2019/04/a-gaming-eulogy-for-google-plus.html

https://surprisingly-capacious.blogspot.com/2019/03/all-pluses.html

https://frothsofdnd.blogspot.com/2019/04/goodbye-google-plus.html


If you enjoy my free zine, podcast, and/or blog, please consider supporting my work for only $1 per month.